Game Plan: Operation Ilia
by CrimsonSkyTamer
Summary: 45 years ago, a large spaceship containing 100 extraterrestrials named "Ilia" crashed somewhere in the sea near Japan. Now, all 100 Ilia have been released, forced to take part in a life-or-death game. Meanwhile, Sawada Tsunayoshi has no idea of the mess he would get dragged into with his one simple wish. "I...I don't want to be alone..." "You never will be. Not anymore."
1. The Sky without his Elements

_**[Prologue: The Sky without his Elements]**_

As a gentle breeze entered the room, gently caressing gravity-defying brown locks, the "click-clack" sounds could be heard as the room's lone occupant typed away furiously on his keyboard.

_[Long ago, our earliest ancestors were gifted with the power of the elements. Some took after the raging storm at the heart of every attack, promising to be the furious tempest that never rested. Others resembled the tranquil rain that washed away all conflict and sorrow, to be the bonds that tied the family together. Some were like the shining bright sun, banishing all misfortune, or perhaps they took after the blazing lightning, deflecting all attacks on the family. Rarer still were the those born to the deceiving mist, who were masters of deception, weaving a web of truths and lies to hide the family, as were those of the solitary clouds, who stood at an independent standpoint and answered to no-one but themselves, yet protected the family from there.]_

Sawada Tsunayoshi was your average student fresh out of high school, though he was aiming for a college for arts. He was a pretty good cook, and aspired to be a writer or an artist in the future, even though most people would have picked a science or technology related field of study.

_[Yet once every few years or so, a child would be born with the power of the encompassing sky – a sure sign that he was destined for greatness. Said child would eventually hold a high post in the ruling or aristocracy class – perhaps even invited to join the Integrity Knights – or marry into the royal family.]_

He lived alone, admittedly, but he had a father who called him often (read: once a month at least). Besides, he was used to being alone. To live out the rest of his life in solitude…it wasn't as bad as everyone made it sound...right?

_"I...I don't want to be alone..."_

His wish would never be granted; it would never be. Even as he resigned himself to his fate, far away on an island offshore on the Sea of Japan, a black fedora was lowered over dark obsidian eyes. "My Guardian…he has called at last."

* * *

_I'm sorry...but I've lost inspiration for most of my other fics, with the exception of [Sette Fiamma del Mondo: Online] and [Hellhounds of the Vongola], and even then it's dying out at the hands of homework. I really had to write this before I lost all inspiration, but...yeah._

_Hopefully this story is better?_


	2. Not a normal day

_**[Chapter 1: Not a normal day]**_

The gentle ring of the alarm clock woke Tsuna up. Stumbling out of bed, he surveyed his two-room rental apartment to make sure nothing was out of place before he started his morning routine – that was, brushing his teeth, checking his email for any new notifications, checking his documents folder to ensure that all his stories were still safe and virus-free, changing into more casual clothing, checking his FFN account, before he went to buy breakfast.

His apartment was on the outskirts of Namimori city, closer to the west side. It was not exactly safe, for he had heard about attacks resulting in destroyed buildings and et cetera, but he had lived there for two years and it was comfy enough.

As he stepped out the doorway, he felt a pair of eyes on him. Turning around, he checked his surroundings, yet found nothing and no-one even remotely close to glancing at him. Frowning slightly, he walked to his favourite stall – a ramen stall owned by a Chinese girl named I-Pin.

"Ni hao, Sawada-san!" She greeted him with a cheerful smile, holding out a container of ramen – his usual order. He had patronized her stall so often that she had practically memorized when and what his orders would be, even on the different days of the week.

He smiled. "Thank you, I-Pin." Passing her some notes in exchange, he took that container and headed for the bank – it was time to pay his monthly rental.

_Strange…there's very few people out and about today…_ Even as he walked briskly, Tsuna glanced at his surrounding, happening to chance upon an electronics store. The TV displayed was turned on, showcasing an interview featuring the world's most influential businessman, Kawahira. Blinking, the brunet stopped to take a closer look.

_The interviewer smiled at the white-haired business man sitting beside her. "To end off this interview, is there anything you would like to say to your fans, or those who were inspired and wish to start a multi-billion company of their own?"_

_A small smile crossed Kawahira's face as he stared at the camera, spectacle lenses gleaming opaque with the reflection of light. "The tiniest ripple may result in the largest wave. Everything is controlled by destiny, so follow your heart."_

That was weird…yet it seemed like a typical motivational speech. Tsuna shrugged before continuing his walk to the bank. It was just some fancy speech and nothing else; the games played by the upper echelons had nothing to do with him whatsoever.

Or at least, that was what he thought until a cold breeze blew, with mist materializing all around. "Hello?" Tsuna called out; the mist was so thick that he could barely see his surroundings. "Hello? Is anyone ther-mph!"

A hand covered his mouth, effectively silencing all protests. He looked up at the tall dark figure now standing just in front of him.

Panic threatened to overwhelm as he struggled to break free; the grip on his shoulder and over his mouth tightened slightly. "Shut up," the man hissed lowly. "I don't want them to find–"

"A bit too late for that, I think." A gentle feminine voice cut through his sentence as the mist cleared. Long wavy blonde hair fluttered slightly as the lady landed right before them, shreds of mist obscuring part of their vision.

"Hahi!" A girl with dark brown hair too landed in front of them, and brandished an admonishing finger at the lady. "Wait for Haru desu!"

"…next time, just shut up." Tsuna looked furious as the man ungraciously shoved him behind and took a defensive stance. "I'd rather not expand so much power before I find my Guardian, though."

"Hahi! That's horrible desu!" The brunette cried out in indignation while the lady merely smiled. "We're trying to do you a favour on the behalf of our Guardian; once you're winged, life will turn horrible desu!"

"Save it, Haru." The lady advised, before stepping forward. "Let me introduce myself. I am Ilia #E, Elena, and I will be your opponent."

The man lowered his fedora. "A Letter?" With an almost inaudible sigh, he grabbed Tsuna by his collar and jumped, landing safely on the roof of a nearby building. Sprinting across, he jumped from rooftop to rooftop until he was far away from the scene.

"How rude, desu!" Haru muttered. "And we were trying to help him too!"

Elena smiled but shrugged, before turning away as mist gathered once again. "It seems to me that he's familiar with the Letters…"

"The Letters and the Single-Numbers are more powerful; all Ilia have heard of them desu!" Haru exclaimed before running after Elena, who had disappeared into the mist.

* * *

Panting harshly, Tsuna attempted to catch his breath as he stared at the tall man standing beside him. _Okay, who or what is he?! He ran at such inhuman speeds – carrying me to boot – and he didn't even break a sweat!_

"Stop that," the man commented as he narrowed his onyx eyes. "It's stupid to be panting, especially when _you_ didn't do anything."

"…" Tsuna blinked, before frowning slightly. "I'm sorry for being human, then."

Lowering his fedora, the man turned to leave. When Tsuna didn't follow, he turned back, rolling his eyes. "Well? Are you waiting for a red carpet or something?"

Shrugging, the brunet walked over and held out a hand, which the raven stared at. "Have you never heard of a handshake?" The brunet quipped, grabbing the raven's hand and shaking it vigorously before dropping it. "My name's Tsuna; what's yours?"

"…" The raven stared at the brunet, silent.

"Well, if I'm going to tag along then we should at least introduce ourselves, right?" Tsuna shrugged. "It's only right."

"…Reborn." The man, now identified as Reborn, started walking, leaving the shrugging brunet to chase after him. "Hey! W-Wait up!"


	3. Iris Lodge

_**[Chapter 2: Iris Lodge]**_

"W-Woah." Tsuna stared at the bungalow before him. It was at the Northern outskirts of Namimori city, and looked…sparkly.

No, he wasn't kidding. The walls were white and the windows all but shone, with the brilliant green lawn being freshly mowed. Stunned, Tsuna barely took note that Reborn was pushing him towards the doorway; only when the doorbell was rung did everything finally register in his mind.

"HIEEEE!" He shrieked as Reborn twitched his fingers in reflex – no doubt wanting to cover his ears, but his pride wouldn't allow him to.

"Ara, ara?" The door swung inwards without a creak as a lady in a white dress and a huge mushroom-like white hat stepped out, a gentle smile on her face. "Who's this, Reborn?"

"This is Tsuna." Reborn said – sighed? – before pushing the startled brunet forward. Tsuna opened his mouth to speak, but was pulled into a tight hug by the lady. "Did Reborn bully you, hm? I hope he hasn't!"

Her green hair was so dark that it almost resembled black, while her sapphire blue eyes were cheerful, yet filled with a strange kind of loss. Those piercing orbs gazed into his caramel ones, and for the fraction of a second, Tsuna thought that he saw a trace of recognition.

But how could it be? He was positive that he'd never met her before.

That moment soon passed and she smiled, letting go of him. "My name is Luce. Welcome to Iris Lodge, Sawada Tsunayoshi." She ushered him in, with Reborn shutting the door and bringing up the rear. "I have a feeling that you're going to be a very important part of our family…"

* * *

Luce led me to the living room, where a few other people had gathered.

"Who is this brat, kora?" A blond male in a military suit glanced at me curiously, before turning his attention back to his sports drink. "He doesn't seem like one of us…"

A flash of red caught Tsuna's eye – now standing at the previously-empty doorway was a tall male in red traditional Chinese clothing. His black braid was carelessly draped over a shoulder, but the aura of confidence and elegance that he gave off was by no means affected.

Though come to think of it, Tsuna mused, everyone that he had met in this house so far exuded their own aura of confidence. Though of course, Reborn was confident…bordering on egoistical.

"I heard that." A punch on my back sent the brunet sprawling to the floor, and he looked up to see a frowning Reborn. "I am not egoistical. And by the way, that was a _light_ punch."

…emphasis on the word "light". The brunet sighed. Another reason for him to suspect that none of them were, in fact, human.

"And you'd be right." Luce smiled, albeit slightly sadly. "None of us are human, but I cannot say any more."

I was startled, but was interrupted by a voice…with an accompaniment of what sounded like paper being shuffled.

"Mu. If he is to visit often, I shall charge a visitation fee…" A person in an indigo hooded cloak commented, shuffling piles of money. I blinked, even as Luce smiled. "That's Viper."

"And just to clear the air, she's a female." The Chinese man commented with a smile, before entering the room with a flourish. "My name is Fon; it is a pleasure to meet you."

I hastily stammer back a reply, feeling Reborn's piercing gaze on me. Just then, my phone rang. Excusing myself, I hurry back into the hallway to pick up the call.

"_How's my dear Tuna fish?"_

…By that way, that's a typical greeting from my father. "Hi, dad. How come you're calling so early this time?"

"_Aw…do you not miss me?"_

I shrugged, even though I knew he would not see it. I could almost visualize his expression when speaking into the phone….nah, I shan't go there.

"_Anyway, there have been some…incidents at Namimori lately."_ His tone became serious; I could tell that he was trying really hard not to let something slip. _"You have to take care of yourself, okay?"_

A small smile crosses my face. "I will."

"_Good." _He laughs, before sobering up. Was that someone shouting at him from the other end? Sounded something like, 'Stupid Iemitsu, you can't just send out a summons and then occupy yourself with chatting on your phone!' …looks like my dad really is busy, huh.

"_Er…I have to go for a meeting now. Sorry, Tuna fish! I'll call you next time!"_ And just like that, the call ended. I couldn't help but feel a little disappointed, but it's natural – my father was a busy man.

"Oi, are you alright, kora?" A sudden weight on the top of my head alerted me to the presence of the blond from the living room. "You rushed from the room so suddenly; Luce was worried something had happened."

I blinked, before replying with a sheepish smile. "Sorry for making you worry, it was just my father calling."

"I wasn't worried, kora!" He looks away quickly, before dragging me back to the living room.

* * *

I spent the entire day at Iris Lodge, and got to know Colonello, Fon and Luce a bit better. Reborn, that egoistical hitman, insisted on being anti-social and Viper couldn't be bothered to do anything other than counting her money.

Luce insisted that Reborn take me home, regardless of our protests – surprisingly, we actually agreed on _something_ – and in the end, the both of us just gave in with good grace.

Not.

I protested (and probably pouted), and even Reborn deigned to give Luce a horrified stare – well, as horrified as he could get – but Luce stood firm. In the end, she pushed both of us out the front door with a sweet smile. "If Tsuna-kun is hurt in any way, Reborn…"

Yeah, that sweet smile radiated death alright.

Lowering his fedora so that it covered his eyes, Reborn sighed almost inaudibly, before walking out the gates. He didn't even bother waiting for me to catch up.


	4. First Kiss

_**[Chapter 3: First Kiss]**_

"So…what's your favourite colour?" I ask with a light shrug. Reborn, who was a few steps ahead of me, turns around so fast that I swear I almost saw smoke being produced from the friction between his (expensive-looking) leather shoes and the concrete sidewalk.

"What." It was a statement, not a question…but I get the feeling that he was incredulous.

I blink, before repeating myself. "What's your favourite colour?"

"And why," he drawls, before resuming his stroll, "would you inquire about that?"

I shrug once more, before chasing after him half-heartedly. "There's nothing to do." And it was true. The walk from the Northern outskirts of Namimori to the Eastern side was quite a long one, and frankly, I was really bored.

"…yellow." Reborn mutters, before pulling his fedora even lower.

I pause for a second, not sure of how to reply. Yellow was…such a sunny colour, I wasn't sure it fit the egoistical and silent man next to me. "I would prefer orange, personally."

His dark amber eyes flash with curiosity for a second as he turns to glance at me, breathing out a single word under his breath. _"Sky"_, was what it was.

For that brief moment, time seemed to slow down as I was drawn to his burning dark amber eyes. Even as I stared, I thought could see a brief outline of a faint yellow aura flickering around the fedora-wearing hitman, who was staring at me so intently that I was sure he could see something around me as well.

The question was, what did he see?

"There you are, desu!" The brunette from earlier jumped down and landed on her feet gracefully, before brandishing a black hammer at us. It had a long handle, but a regular-sized "head". There were red wave-like lines etched into the handle that glowed as her fingers brushed over them.

"Haru, Ilia #86, will be your opponent." She bows slightly, before slamming the hammer head into the ground. With a resounding "crack", a column of red flames burst out, marking the area of the duel. "I hope you don't mind, but even if you do, I've already called my partner here." She smiles.

Reborn "tch"ed, before pulling out a green gun from his jacket pocket. With a "click", he flicked the safety switch off. "I'll stop you before that Letter comes." He fires a single glowing-yellow shot, which the girl deflects by spinning her currently-flaming hammer round, forming a shield. Yet a smirk crosses Reborn's face as the resulting explosion produces a loud "bang" and tons of smoke.

"Hurry." He mutters, before grabbing my hand and running down the streets at high speed, dragging me along.

* * *

After turning a few times, I suddenly recall that we're now in the outskirts of South-East Namimori. "Wait–" I begin, but it was too late. We had reached an alleyway leading to a factory. Unfortunately, the exit opposite the one we just came in from was blocked by tall barbed wire fences that had a live current running through it and was, as such, capable of electrocution.

...Yay.

"Why didn't you tell me earlier?" Reborn growls softly as the brunette and her blonde friend catch up.

"You were going too fast for me to recognise any landmarks!" I snap back.

The blonde chuckles, before spreading her hands. Mist starts to form, sending a chill down my spine. "Let us begin the battle, then?"

"Che." Reborn pulls out his green gun, pushing me back a few meters away. "Ilia #R, Reborn." After a short pause, he adds an afterthought. "It's _Renato_ to you."

The brunette starts the battle with a simple downward slash of her hammer, which Reborn expertly sidesteps. Elena flicks her fingers and a rope made out of mist darts forward and attempts to trip Reborn at lightning-fast speeds, but Reborn fires two consecutive shots – one shredding the rope, and the other hitting the brunette right in the middle of her chest.

"Haru!" Elena exclaims, before her blue eyes narrow. "Phantom Revenger Dragon!" She shouts, thrusting her right hand to the side as a swirling mist portal appears behind her. Two gigantic black claws push through, seemingly pulling the portal open even wider in order to pull itself out.

"After him." She glares at Reborn, who doesn't flinch. Even as the black dragon with gleaming indigo eyes stared down at him, the hitman does nothing but raise his gun, which glows a blinding shade of yellow. _The exact same shade of yellow as his aura._

Mist coils around them both, blocking them from my sight. But I can hear the battle going on, and it's positively bone-chilling. To know that there are supernatural creatures out there fighting in Namimori…was this perhaps what my father was warning me about?

A dull "thud" snaps me out of my thoughts as I see an injured Reborn trying to push himself up on the concrete ground before me. With barely a second thought, I rush over, but the dragon's glare stops me in my tracks.

Then its claw came rushing down, aimed at Reborn.

* * *

Blood gushes out of a wound on my back as I stare into shocked, dark amber orbs. "…why…" I can hear his soft question, but I have no reply. Truth to be told, I didn't even remember running to protect him.

"Don't get in the middle of an Ilia's battle, human." Elena sounded weary. "If I hadn't stopped Revenger, you would have been dead by now."

I take in a shaky breath and prepare to stand, but a hand snakes over my neck and pulls me down. Reborn's dark amber orbs meet my own caramel ones before our lips touch in a gentle, chaste kiss.

My eyes widen even as I pulled away; a torrent of blinding yellow flames burst from the ground and surround both Reborn and myself. In that short duration when we were in that column of flames, our wounds healed at an abnormally fast pace, leaving no scars or proof that we had been injured before.

"Seems like it's over, desu." The brunette's voice reminds me that we're still in that dark alleyway even as the flames die down. She was leaning on the blonde for support, keeping one hand pressing on the gunshot wound.

Elena shrugs lightly, the last vestiges of the mist disappearing. "We don't fight winged Ilia." She says with a small wave, and the two of them leave.

"Huh." Reborn returns the gun to his inner jacket pocket, before brushing the non-existent dust off his suit, which was covered with a few bloodstains.

Just then, it hit me. Why now and not earlier, I'll never know. "Wait…you just took my first kiss!"


End file.
